Former Lake Oswego cross country and track and field coach John Parks is suing his former employer, alleging that the school district has infringed on his First Amendment and 14th Amendment rights.
In a lawsuit filed in federal court on Wednesday, Parks claimed that Lake Oswego School District committed an “unlawful retaliatory investigation and subsequent termination” of his contract after he spoke out against transgender female athletes competing in Oregon high school events in the girls division.
Parks is asking that Lake Oswego School District remove the investigation and subsequent termination from his personnel file and employment record; return him to his positions as both cross country and track and field coach, as well as his role as special education teacher assistant at the district. He is also asking the district to declare that it violated his rights under the First Amendment, which protects free speech, and the 14th Amendment, which includes the due process and equal protection clauses, and also pay him damages to be set in a trial.
Parks sent a letter to the Oregon School Activities Association earlier this spring, protesting a transgender girl’s participation and asking that the OSAA create an “open” division that allowed transgender athletes to compete separately from their cisgender peers.
The Oregonian/OregonLive is not naming the student-athlete to protect her privacy.
At the end of the school year, Parks’ contract with Lake Oswego was not renewed. He told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the investigation into him by the district started when Portland Public Schools athletic director Marshall Haskins sent a complaint to the district in May.
Haskins’ letter to the district alleged that Parks had contacted coaches and parents from around the state, asking them to demand the OSAA bar the transgender athlete from competition. Haskins also claimed that Parks asked coaches to boycott medal presentations and that he was “riling up” spectators to boo the transgender athlete at the state meet at Hayward Field, among other things.
Parks has denied all of the accusations made by Haskins. In the lawsuit, he claims that his communication with the OSAA was not discriminatory.
“A staff member’s expression of concern for the welfare of both transgender and non-transgender athletes in a letter to a third party and conversations with third parties does not constitute discrimination prohibited by law,” the lawsuit reads. “The Board’s policy on hazing and harassment, even construed liberally, would not preclude conversations, emails, and letters by staff to third parties where the primary concern is the welfare of all student athletes.”
The lawsuit adds that Parks both has had transgender student-athletes on his teams at Lake Oswego High School in the past, as well as transgender family members.
The exhibits of the lawsuit include a copy of the letter sent to Parks from Lake Oswego High School Principal Kristen Colyer that detailed the investigation into him after the complaint submitted by Haskins.
The letter from Colyer notes that the school district was allegedly able to find evidence of Parks violating multiple school board policies from his actions, including:
Sending an email directly to the OSAA as a representative of Lake Oswego School District in an effort to stop the transgender student-athlete from participating in the state meet.
Contacting coaches from other schools as the Lake Oswego track and field coach prior to the state meet asking them to also submit letters and emails and call the OSAA office to stop the transgender student-athlete from being allowed to participate at the state meet.
Communicated with student-athletes at the state meet, recommending they not participate in the medal presentation if the transgender student-athlete won their events.
Spoke with coaches, student-athletes and families before and during the state meet regarding their plans if the transgender student-athlete were to win and be on the podium.
The letter also claims to confirm other items from Haskins’ original complaint, which weren’t listed as violations of district policies:
Was directed by athletic director Chris Coleman to not discuss issues related to transgender student-athlete participation in events, specifically the state meet.
Was insubordinate to that same directive given by the athletic director.
Spoke to the transgender student-athlete during the medal presentation for the 400-meter race. The letter includes that it is unclear if the interaction was positive or negative.
There were also two items where the school district found no evidence:
Spoke to the transgender student-athlete during the medal presentation for the 200-meter race.
Riled up state tournament spectators in the stands to boo the transgender student-athlete during the medal presentation.
“After reviewing all of the information and circumstances around this incident, there is a preponderance of the evidence that indicates that Coach John Parks was insubordinate and discriminated against the McDaniel High School transgender athlete,” reads the letter from Colyer in the summary after the findings. “This violates board policies AC - Nondiscrimination and JFCF - Hazing, Harassment, Intimidation, Bullying, Menacing, Cyberbullying, Teen Dating Violence, or Domestic Violence.”
The lawsuit also contains a follow-up letter to Parks from Colyer that discusses the findings.
“As an educational institution, we are committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for all students,” the letter from Colyer reads. “In light of these findings, the Lake Oswego School District has decided that the District cannot support your actions and behaviors. The length of any coaching contract is for the current season only. Consequently, we will open the cross country and track coach positions for Lake Oswego High School for the 2024-25 school year.”
In an appeal of the school district’s decision (also added as an exhibit in the lawsuit), Parks denied the school district’s findings.
“The basis of the appeal is that the findings in the letter I was given on June 12, 2024, are not based on fact,” he wrote.
Parks did reapply for the open coaching and assistant teaching positions at Lake Oswego High School, the lawsuit states, and his application was denied.
The OSAA’s policy allows students to participate in “the athletic or activity program of their consistently asserted gender identity.”
The association’s policy is set to align with guidelines set by both the Oregon Department of Education and also federal rules.
Parks is being represented by Luke Miller of Miller Bradley Law in Salem, as well as Buck Dougherty from the Liberty Justice Center based in Austin, Texas.
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